10 Erotic Films

Belle de Jour

Directed by Luis Buñuel, 1967

Beautiful young housewife Séverine Serizy cannot reconcile her masochistic fantasies with her everyday life alongside dutiful husband Pierre. When her lovestruck friend Henri mentions a secretive high-class brothel run by Madame Anais, Séverine begins to work there during the day under the name Belle de Jour. But when one of her clients grows possessive, she must try to go back to her normal life

Belle de Jour is actually one of my favorite films of all time & I want to do a full write up about it in the future. I won’t say much more about it now, but it’s the first movie on this list for a reason. It’s perfect to me. I rewatch it a lot.

Blue Velvet

Directed by David Lynch, 1986

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of criminals who have kidnapped her child.

David Lynch is one of my favorite directors who often explores eroticism in his films. I’m limiting myself to listing only one of his movies in this short list of 10 - and it’s Blue Velvet. This film is haunting, surreal, dark & sexy. It shows kink as a form of healing from trauma. I particularly love Kyle MacLachlan’s character, Jeffrey Beaumont, as the symbol of innocence who is drawn to the darker side of his desires. Another thing I love about this film is the fact that during production, David Lynch & Isabella Rossellini fell in love & started dating. I think this adds to how the film sees Rossellini’s character, Dorothy Vallens.

Other erotic Lynch films I would recommend are Mulholland Drive, Wild at Heart, & Lost Highway.

Videodrome

Directed by David Cronenberg, 1983

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon “Videodrome,” a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

This movie is so awesome. Body horror meets erotica starring Debbie Harry. What more do you want?

Cronenberg often combines eroticism with science fiction themes, which is my favorite thing about his work. Videodrome specifically explores the intersection between violence, sex, & technology. There’s so much going on in this film, maybe I need to do a full write up about this one too. I was going to recommend some of Cronenberg’s other erotic films, like maybe Crash, A Dangerous Method, Crimes of the Future…but honestly they’re all about sex so just work your way through his filmography if you’re interested.

Under the Skin

Directed by Jonathan Glazer, 2013

A seductive alien prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

A 21st century recommendation that really swept me off my feet. This film is both visually & aurally striking - I would recommend the soundtrack just as much as I would recommend the film. Another really moody & haunting watch with poignant visuals to carry you through. There’s a really cool sequence where a man’s formless skin floats through a black space. The last scene still keeps me up at night.

Eyes Wide Shut

Directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1999

After Dr. Bill Harford’s wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings – and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

Every time I watch this movie, I love it more than I did the previous viewing. Eyes Wide Shut is Stanley Kubrick’s last film. Released in 1999 to very mixed reviews, over time it’s come to be regarded as one of Kubrick’s best works. Kubrick actually died 6 days after showcasing his final cut to Warner Brothers executives & there is some controversy over whether the film was censored further before it’s official release. In addition to it’s focus on sex, this film also addresses class, power, & secret societies. Some believe this film is a comment on Hollywood’s underground sex ring, which adds to the conspiracy that Warner Brothers may have censored the film after Kubrick’s death. I also find Cruise & Kidman’s dynamic in this film to be really interesting as Cruise was becoming heavily involved in Scientology during the production of this film while married to his costar, Nicole Kidman. There is a tension present between them as characters, but possibly also as partners as well. There’s a lot of interesting layers to this film & additional context about what was happening behind the scenes that add to it’s intrigue. Okay I think I want to write more about this movie too, I’ll stop here for now.

The Love Witch

Directed by Anna Biller, 2016

Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However her spells work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder.

The Love Witch is a campy comedy-horror written, edited, scored, produced, & directed by Anna Biller. Shot entirely on 35mm & printed from an original cut negative, the film was acclaimed for its tribute to 1960s horror and Technicolor films, combined with its serious inquiry into contemporary gender roles. The Love Witch is really fun & aesthetically gorgeous, particularly for it’s consideration to set & costume design. I watched some of Anna Biller’s earlier films after seeing The Love Witch, & this film really feels like a culmination of all of her ideas as an artist & auteur.

In the Mood for Love

Directed by Wong Kar-wai, 2000

Taking place in Hong Kong of 1962, a melancholy story about the love between a woman and a man who live in the same building and one day find out that their husband and wife had an affair with each other.

In the Mood for Love is a truly beautiful film. A cinematographic masterpiece. I’d love to see it in theaters someday. It’s a very poetic film in the sense that it’s using the medium of filmmaking to create a visual manifestation of concepts such as fantasy, longing, memory, dreams, & mood. Throughout the film, certain songs from the soundtrack repeat themselves, often alongside slow motion visuals, creating a trance-like feeling. The cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, says of the film,

“The film is of, and celebrates, our [Hong Kong] world. In our world, there is no such thing as the Western concept of ‘privacy,’ except, as I think the film conceded, in the privacy of your own head,” Doyle says. “All you are and how you live is relevant to all around you: to society, to those you live with. So, of course, keeping a secret, or even showing an emotion, is a very devious endeavor.”

Secretary

Directed by Steven Shainberg, 2002

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.

This is kind of a basic one but a favorite regardless. I particularly love the dynamic between Maggie Gyllenhaal & James Spader in this film - it’s very genuine & really captures both the social awkwardness & erotic intoxication that sexual tension can elicit. Maggie Gyllenhaal in particular is really fantastic in her role as Lee Holloway. This is another film that shows kink as a form of healing & additionally explores concepts of control, power, & acceptance through a BDSM dynamic. I also love this film for normalizing kink & packaging itself for a more norm-core audience.

The Piano Teacher

Directed by Michael Haneke, 2001

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

The Piano Teacher is a great film about sexual repression. The way this movie is filmed adds so much to it’s emotional impact - the shots are often long & unflinching, forcing the viewer to watch the pain that Erika is experiencing to the point of becoming a voyeur to it. I’m realizing that I really enjoy erotic films that show kink as a form of healing. This film in particular shows a very painful journey through that process. Isabelle Huppert’s performance as Erika is just incredible.

The Hunger

Directed by Tony Scott, 1983

Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life, but John, her companion for centuries, suddenly discovers that he is getting old minute by minute, so he looks for Dr. Sarah Roberts, a researcher on the mechanisms of aging, and asks her for help.

Every erotic film list needs a vampire feature & I chose The Hunger because the cast is super hot. David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, & Susan Sarandon in an eternal & vampiric love triangle. That’s pretty much the selling point.

Those are my 10 recommendations for now. I would love to write more in-depth about some of my favorite films in the future.

To share some more erotic features still sitting on my watchlist, I’ve been really wanting to see:

Nymphomaniac: Volume 1, Lars von Trier, 2014

The Handmaiden, Park Chan-wook, 2016

Sex, Lies, & Videotape, Steven Soderbergh, 1989

Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino, 2017

Emmanuelle, Just Jaeckin, 1974

Obsession, Brian De Palma, 1976

The Night Porter, Liliana Cavani, 1974

Dangerous Liaisons, Stephen Frears, 1988

Y Tu Mamá También, Alfonso Cuarón, 2001

The Piano, Jane Campion, 1993

Bound, Lilly & Lana Wachowski, 1996

Blue is the Warmest Color, Abdel Kechiche, 2013

Venus in Fur, Roman Polanski, 2013

The Untamed, Amat Escalante, 2016

In the Realm of the Senses, Nagisa Ôshima, 1976

Last Tango in Paris, Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Philip Kaufman, 1988

Thirst, Park Chan-wook, 2009

The Dreamers, Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003

Sleeping Beauty, Julia Leigh, 2010

Love, Gaspar Noé, 2015

Feel free to leave a comment with some of your own favorites as well -

XOXO,

Hollow